Monday, 22 March 2010

"We spent 11 years committed to [Sleater-Kinney], heart and soul. To get back into it we have to be in that place where we can immerse ourselves fully. I think it will happen. We have to loop around, and we're at the far end of the circle, away from the band, but I think we will come back and revisit it. And hopefully that record will be sometime in the next five years."

This is just a maybe. A HUGE maybe. But nevertheless, in my mind I'm already up front, at the Sleater-Kinney gig, crying at the sheer spectacle of the moment.

For a sooner SK fix, Corin's album is due to drop later in the year on Kill Rock Stars and Carrie revealed that she has formed a new group with, drum roll, Janet Weiss.

There you go. Two big scoops of Sleater-Kinney related gossip all in one go.

Marine Girls were a post punk band from Hertfordshire that made their impact on the music scene during the early 80s.

The girls met at sixth form college in 1980. Tracey Thorn, later of Everything But The Girl, and Gina Hartman decided to form the band. Originally Tracey played guitar and Gina played drums and vocals.

They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her sister Alice on vocals and percussion.

I first heard about them on Beth Ditto's Christmas 6music special radio programme. From what I can remember she didn't even play them but just mentioned that they were a big influence on her. For some reason the name stuck with me. I love how minimalist and simple the songs really were.

The band had a very short lived career. Gina left to pursue other musical projects and Tracey moved to Hull to attend university. Marine Girls disbanded in 1983 after releasing two albums and a number of singles.

I have been pretty busy lately and have completly forgot about this site but that will change as of now and will start regularly blogging again.

To celebrate I have a new feature to share with you.

It's a monthly feature called Random Selection. Basically each month I will round up every artist that I have always heard of but never got round to listening to. I'll put all their names in a hat, or stick them on a dartboard whichever works best, and then one artist at random and write down my intial reaction to hearing their music for the first time.

First up is Joan Armatrading.

I'd only heard good things about Joan but for one reason or another I never investigated for myself.

Joan Armatrading is a singer/songwriter who released her first album in the 70s and is still touring now.

Every video and picture of her paints her as an artist that defied the idea of what a singer should look like choosing baggy shirt and trousers over tight dresses and always performing with her trusty guitar.

The first song I heard was 'I'm Lucky'.Immediately I was taken in by the synthy/80s sound and awkward half sung/half spoken vocals.

The second song I heard was 'Love and Affection'.

The song begins "I'm not in love but I'm open to suggestion."

How can you not fall in love with that kind of honesty.

The third song I heard was 'Drop The Pilot'.

This has a very 80s theme tune feel but its catchy. I absolutely know idea what it's about as the lyrics are a mystery but I like it.

Ultimately I'm pretty annoyed I didn't take the time to find out about her earlier. Do you ever get that feeling when you hear someone for the first time that you've found the missing link. That missing piece that connects all your favourite artists in one huge creative jigsaw.

Let me know what you think. Who made you think twice? Who stopped you in your tracks? Who was your missing link?

Sunday, 14 March 2010

When I headed out last night to see Blood Red Shoes I was not particularly sure what to expect.

I, stupidly, had only listened to their new album once and had not been listening to their first album much for a while. In the end this self imposed ignorance worked to my advantage. I rediscovered BRS that night and remembered exactly why I loved them so much in the first place.

But let's start at the beginning of the night.

I was on the tube up to Highbury & Islington, surrounded completely by what I correctly guessed as fellow gig goers except for one man who was minding his own business with a cat balloon for a head. The weirdest thing was that I was the only one that seemed to notice. I guess I still haven't got used to the daily oddities of London.

Anyway I reached The Garage and was immensely surprised how beautiful and oddly clean it was. This is not what I'm used to at all. To top things off I got served in about two minutes which is way under the usual 15 minutes I have to waste trying to get the attention of the barman.

I found a good place to stand at the back where I could see the stage and then the lights turned down and on walked the band. BRS came with all the ferocious, gut wrenching riffs from their first album and brought a few more along with them.

The main reason I love BRS is because, as someone more eloquent than me said, "they make the kind of music you would make with your friends in that band you should have got together."

The way Laura plays takes you back to the fury of Babes in Toyland or the DIY aesthetic of Bikini Kill.

I saw BRS at Bush Hall when they were just getting big and they banter is basically the same. Laura remains very shy and says very little and Steven is his cheeky self and jokes with the crowd.

If anyone is worried that the new album won't match Box of Secrets then you're sadly mistaken. there are plenty of highlights from their latest offering including 'Heartsink', 'When We Wake' and 'Don't Ask'.

I left the gig with that lovely feeling that BRS are keeping the DIY aesthetic alive.

Sunday, 7 March 2010

News that Beth Ditto's rags to punk rock riches story will go down in history in the form of a memoir has got me thinking of the other memoirs that I need or really want to be published.

Courtney Love- Dirty Blonde
Although reviews have stated that Love's 2007 book, featuring letters, notes, lyrics and personal pictures, offers nothing new for fans I still think it will be an amzing read. Despite the press trying to slander, demean and devalue her work over the years Love has remained; a survivor and a truly inspirational individual.

Patti Smith- Just Kids
Just Kids documents the naive yet loving relationship between Smith and Robert Mapplethorne who, in the early seventies, were both aspiring artist. The story behind the youthful, creative and ambitous crowd in seventies New York is one that everyone can enjoy.

PJ Harvey- You're Not Rid Of Me
Ok this one isn't real but I really want to hear a detailed story of the person behind the artist. I know it'll spoil the myth but I don't care i'm greedy.

The issue of consumerism and how it negatively effects women in particular has been around for decades. X-ray Spex and The Slits were singing about it the seventies and The Gossip carried on that trend in the present day with their homage to Poly Styrene, 'Spare Me From The Mold'.

I really think consumerism is a particularly nasty evil in our world. I know I get too addicted to shopping to the point where I begin to think I'm incomplete if I don't buy that new bag or whatever.

So this mixtape is a compilation of what I think are some of the best songs about consumerism.

The original already had r'n'b vibes around it but with Solange's vocals and a sample of Soul Mann and the Brothers 'Bumpy Lament', sampled by Erykah Badu and Dr Dre, it really sounds like a laid back r'n'b track, which I love and I know you'll love too.

p.s. If you've ever seen Solange with her little boy you'll know their are reasons to love her beyond her music, he's so cute.

To be honest we already knew it was happening but recently through their official website Le Tigre confirmed the rumours that they were working with diiirty pop princess Christina Aguilera.

Johanna Fateman stated:

I just saw the Marie Claire with CHRISTINA AGUILERA on the cover and I realized we are waaaay overdue for an update. Yes, the rumors are true. . . Le Tigre wrote and produced a couple of songs with Christina! Not wanting to break the spell of this magic opportunity as we wait in suspense to hear if our tracks make it on the album, we’ve been quiet on the topic. But now that the buzz is getting crazy I just can’t contain myself. Needless to say, for a feminist band obsessed with pop music, it was pretty much a dream come true.

Apparently everyone's favourite feminist electro band are fans of Aguilera and are not immune to putting their heroes on pedestals like the rest of us.

Meeting Christina and working with her at her home studio was simultaneously super comfortable and normal-seeming while also kind of a mind-blowing window into another world....... Curling up in sweatpants, puzzling over lyrics and checking her blackberry while the beat loops forever. . . Hey Christina is just like us after all! She is totally cool and hilarious and down-to-earth.

I really wanna know what this X-Tina track sounds like now. It's been rumoured that the result is a sparse, Fever Ray sound, see below:

In other Le Tigre related news, Jo mentioned that they will be releasing a live DVD in the future which I can't wait for.